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Apple Vision Pro review roundup: here’s what everyone thinks of the Apple headset

January 30, 2024
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The first batch of Apple Vision Pro reviews has dropped, giving us a look at what it’s like to use the headset beyond the 20 to 30-minute demos Apple has run for it previously.

The Vision Pro preorders aren’t set to arrive for weeks after the headset releases on February 2 – and we strongly advise you not to buy one of the preorders being sold on eBay for ridiculously high markups. But if you’ve been on the fence about buying Apple's mixed reality device, now is a good time to find out more about it and decide if it’s worth the $ 3,500 asking price.

Interestingly, a lot of the reviewers seem to be in agreement so far. The capabilities of the headset are apparently superb, with 3D spatial video and the intuitive eye and face-tracking control system being standouts. But the price does feel steep, especially as the Vision Pro is only at its best if you’re already deep in the Apple ecosystem with gadgets and peripherals like a Mac, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse.

Here’s our round-up of all of the full Apple Vision Pro reviews published so far.

Apple Vision Pro reviews

Tom's Guide: “A revolution in progress”

For Mark Spoonauer, the global editor-in-chief of our sister site Tom's Guide, the standout features of the Vision Pro are its eye and hand-tracking interface – which he called “amazing” – and the 3D spatial video playback, which our own Lance Ulanoff called an “immersive trip”.

Design-wise the Vision Pro was also solid, though Spoonauer noted that he had to take regular breaks from wearing the device because of the Vision Pro’s weight. The tethered battery that powers the Vision Pro could also be “annoying at times.”

Some of the software also feels like it's “still in the early stages,” with the App Store missing several notable apps at launch, and Personas (a digital stand-in for Vision Pro wearers) are “a bit unnerving to look at.”

He added that the expensive price limits the headset's initial appeal, though Spoonauer hopes Apple has a lower-cost version on the way as the Vision Pro is “the most innovative Apple product since the original iPhone.”

In a nutshell

The Good

Eye and face-tracking “puts the competition to shame”
It’s a “multitasking champ”
Immersive environments full of detail

The Bad

Had to take periodic breaks because of the weight
Very expensive
Tethered battery is “annoying” at times

WSJ: “All the characteristics of a first-gen product”

The Wall Street Journal's review is a very real-world summary of the Vision Pro's current strengths and weaknesses, with reporter Joanna Stern wearing it “nearly nonstop” for one of the testing days.

The main takeaway is that the Vision Pro is a very first-gen product that “you’re probably not going to buy”. As the review concludes, “it’s big and heavy, its battery life sucks, there are few great apps and it can be buggy”.

Okay, so is it actually good at anything yet? Broadly speaking, feeling very sci-fi in a Minority Report sense and also being, as Stern states, “the best mixed-reality headset I’ve ever tried”. That seems to be broadly due to experiences like watching films and or your own home 3-D movies, rather than real-world productivity.

Stern states in the review that she only “started getting real work done once I paired the Vision Pro with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse”, rather than using the built-in virtual keyboard. In other words, it feels more like a face-mounted iMac than a next-gen computer right now.

While “getting around is intuitive”, there are lots of niggles. For example, “at times, the Vision Pro’s eye tracking didn’t respond to my movements” and Stern had to “charge every two to three hours”. During FaceTime calls, friends and family concluded that the reporter looked “awful” and “frightening”. Like all mixed-reality headsets then, the Vision Pro is very much a work in progress.

In a nutshell

The Good

Best AR/VR headset so far
Intuitive interface
Great built-in speakers

The Bad

Headset is heavy
Virtual keyboard is limited
Few great apps

The Verge: “the best consumer headset anyone’s ever made”

The Verge’s editor-in-chief Nilay Patel gave the Apple Vision Pro a score of seven out of 10 in its review, calling it “an astounding product” with “a lot of tradeoffs”

App-wise, Patel says it’s “not totally wrong” to call the Vision Pro an iPad for your face. Most of the software that’s currently available are ported over from iPadOS, and most of them work like iPad apps, too. As Patel notes this means the Vision Pro is lacking when it comes to “true AR” software – that is software that has AR elements blend in and interact with the real world like, say, First Encounters on the Meta Quest 3.

Patel adds that the “iPad for your face” comparison continues to the weight of the thing – pointing out that at 600 to 650 grams it's not far from the weight of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (at 682 grams). Wearing the dual loop strap can help, but he says you can’t “reduce the overall sensation of having all that headset on your face.”

The heavy package does come with some impressive specs, however, with an “incredible display,” “convincing” video passthrough, and an M2 and R1 processor for handling any apps you throw at it. But at the end of the day, Patel doesn’t believe that using a computer in the “inherently isolating” world of VR is better than using a regular computer that doesn’t cut you off from the world around you.

In a nutshell

The Good

Fantastic display
Best passthrough on a headset
“Stunning” design

The Bad

Isolating
Tracking “works until it doesn’t”
A lot of tradeoffs

CNET: “A mind-blowing look at an unfinished future”

CNET's lengthy Vision Pro review is one of the more misty-eyed ones so far, which isn't surprising given reporter Scott Stein has been writing about mixed reality for over a decade. The conclusions about Apple's headset are familiar though; “parts of it are stunning, others don't feel entirely finished”.

Despite its many impressive moments, CNET concludes that the Vision Pro is “clearly not a device you need to get on board with now”. After only 30 minutes, “the headset feels top-heavy and pushes in on my cheeks a bit”, although it apparently works fine for short sessions.

The apps selection is also very limited right now. While “the App Store shows Vision Pro-optimized apps” the “pickings are slim”. Still, “the closest thing to a killer app the Vision Pro has is its cinema-level video playback” the review concludes. Stein says that The Way of Water looks lovely and “sometimes gives me chills”.

While the Vision Pro is “most advanced blend of mixed reality in a standalone device that I've ever experienced”, it's also blighted by the limitations highlighted by other reviews. These include some inconsistent hand- and eye-tracking, a “limited battery life” and a field of view that “feels a bit smaller than the Meta Quest 3”.

So while the Vision Pro is a “stunning look at the future”, it's also “still essentially an iOS computer inside a mixed reality VR headset”.

In a nutshell

The Good

Amazing micro-OLED display
Blends real and virtual well
Personal 3D memories

The Bad

Not many apps
Interface isn't always perfect
Extremely pricey

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

January 30, 2024
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Apple’s Vision Pro is just a couple of days away from launching, and while Apple has highlighted some astonishing apps that are coming to the device, there have also been questions over how many apps will be available for users upon release. Well, we now know that one of the best iPhone apps will be among that number, and it could provide you with a great way to use Apple’s mixed-reality headset.

The app is the ever-popular Carrot Weather. As the name suggests, this app provides you with forecasts, weather warnings, and everything in between. It’s known for its caustic sense of humor – your reports are delivered by a robot whose outlook ranges from gentle to misanthropic – and that’s helped it stand out among a slate of other excellent weather apps.

On the Vision Pro, though, Carrot Weather is going to do something a little different. According to screenshots posted by the M1 Astra account on X (formerly Twitter), Carrot Weather will come with a floating planet Earth that shows the weather at whatever global location you select, as well as mini-games you can play via an tool at the bottom of the app window.

That comes in addition to the range of weather data you’d expect from an app like this, including temperatures, wind speeds, sunrise and sunset times, and more. That information will be displayed in a large floating window that shows far more data at a glance than the Carrot Weather iPhone app is able to do.

As spotted by MacRumors, Carrot Weather developer Brian Mueller said the floating globe would be the “marquee feature” of the app and that “it's just really cool being able to look at a globe floating in your living room.” It shows one of the ways the Vision Pro may let apps do things they never could on an iPhone or iPad.

Is the Vision Pro selling well?

The Carrot Weather app shown in augmented reality using Apple's Vision Pro headset. — (Image credit: Grailr)

It comes as news emerged that Apple has reportedly sold around 200,000 Vision Pro headsets in the first 10 days since pre-orders opened on January 19 (via MacRumors). Given pre-release predictions, that seems like an impressively high figure, but there is a caveat to those numbers.

Analysts had previously predicted that Apple would sell about 400,000 headsets in the entire first year of its availability. Apple tipster Ming-Chi Kuo, meanwhile, forecast that Apple would produce between 60,000 and 80,000 units for the device’s launch, suggesting that even Apple was unprepared for the level of demand.

That said, Kuo also claimed in a later report that Apple sold between 160,000 and 180,000 headsets during the pre-order weekend. That suggests that demand might have slowed in the days since then, as Apple has now apparently hit 200,000 units sold after 10 days.

The big question is whether Apple can sustain Vision Pro demand throughout the year. A large number of those 200,000 sales would likely have come from developers, hardcore Apple fans and early adopters. Will Apple be able to sustain this level of sales going forward, or will interest slowly die off over time? We’ll be watching closely.

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January 29, 2024
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A slick new advert for the Apple Vision Pro has just appeared on the official Apple YouTube account, just a few days ahead of the first shipments of the mixed reality headset being sent out to customers. Meanwhile, a new report claims that Meta now considers itself to be the headset's main, Android-style adversary.

The 68-second video has the usual Apple polish and a lot of the ingredients we've come to expect from Apple commercials – such as a classic pop song, aspirational lifestyles, travel, family and friends. It's called “Hello Apple Vision Pro” and the promise in the caption is that “you can do the things you love in ways never before possible”.

It's actually a helpful preview of some of the features and experiences that the Vision Pro offers: watching movies, working on presentations in a virtual 3D space, making FaceTime calls, bringing up images and video that wrap around your field of vision, and more.

As you would expect from an advertisement, it's somewhat selective in what it shows. There's no sign of the Vision Pro battery pack, and Napoleon is an interesting choice as the featured movie, because Ridley Scott's historical epic is seven minutes longer than the Vision Pro's official estimated battery life. You might need a recharge for the end credits.

More competition

We've already spent some time with Apple's headset for our hands-on Apple Vision Pro review, though not enough yet for a full review. Those first verdicts are going to be interesting, as will the impact of the headset on the augmented/virtual/mixed reality hardware market as a whole.

The Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro are now in direct competition with Apple's new device, but Meta executives don't seem to be overly perturbed by the Vision Pro's arrival. As per the Wall Street Journal (via 9to5Mac), Meta is hoping that the Vision Pro boosts interest in the tech in general, leading to more sales of the cheaper Meta headsets too.

Meta executives are “optimistic”, sources have told the WSJ, with the report going on to say that Meta is hoping to be the Android of the AR/VR/MR space – in other words, the main alternative to Apple, as Google's mobile operating system is on phones and tablets.

According to the WSJ, the Vision Pro has “influenced Meta's thinking” when it comes to embracing mixed reality experiences, and improving natural gesture control – Apple's headset relies on eye and finger tracking, while the Meta devices are primarily operated by physical controllers, with gesture support in testing.

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January 27, 2024
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The first preorders for the Apple Vision Pro will very soon be making their way into the hands of users, but it seems that Apple is making plans to have headsets like the Vision Pro respond to the posture of the person wearing them.

A newly published patent (via Patently Apple) refers to “tiered posture awareness” – a method through which headsets and smart specs could figure out the posture of users, and then make any necessary tweaks to the way content was presented.

So, for example, a virtual 3D environment might be slightly adjusted based on the way the user is standing or sitting, and the surround sound effects applied to audio feeds could also be changed to be as immersive as possible.

The patent also mentions making calculations based on how much strain the headset might be putting on the person wearing it – this information could be used to warn users if their posture is putting too much strain on their body parts.

Future updates

The Apple Vision Pro headset on a grey background — Preorders for the Apple Vision Pro are open now (Image credit: Apple)

It's quite a complex patent, and the usual caveats about patents apply here too: there's no guarantee that these ideas will ever actually be implemented in a product, but they offer an interesting insight into what Apple's engineers are thinking about.

In the hands-on time we've had with the Apple Vision Pro, we haven't noticed any kind of head or neck strain, though these sessions have been rather brief. We'll be running a full test of the spatial computing device just as soon as we're able to.

Something like what's being described in the patent could potentially be delivered to the Vision Pro via a future software update. Alternatively, it might be held back for future versions of the headset, which we've already started hearing rumors about.

Apple will also be hoping that more app developers put out dedicated versions of their apps for the Vision Pro in the future: the likes of Netflix are currently holding back because it's going to take a while for the Vision Pro to make it to the mainstream.

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January 25, 2024
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Apple describes the Vision Pro as a “spatial computing” device, but right now it's arguably as much a pair of cinema goggles that can play 3D movies. That billing has been undermined by the absence of a few apps from streaming's big players – and Netflix has just explained why it's steering clear of the headset, for now.

In an interview with Stratechery (via The Verge), Netflix's co-CEO Greg Peters revealed why Netflix hasn't made a native app (or even made its iPad app available) for the Vision Pro. In a completely fair yet somehow slightly withering observation, he states that the Vision Pro “is so subscale that it's not particularly relevant to most of our members”.

Peters adds that Netflix has to make sure “that we’re not investing in places that are not really yielding a return”, but that “we’re always in discussions with Apple to try and figure that out”. In other words, Netflix isn't ruling out making an app for the Vision Pro in the future, but only when Apple's headset becomes a lot more mainstream.

That could be some way off. Early estimates suggest the Vision Pro's first weekend sales were around 180,000 units, with demand likely to taper off significantly. When you consider that Netflix now has 260 million subscribers worldwide – helpfully bolstered by the success of its ad-supported tier – you can see why it might be taking a watch-and-wait approach.

Yet Netflix's conservative approach to the Vision Pro also reflects some historically frosty relations with Apple. Netflix hasn't let you sign up to its app through Apple TV for many years to avoid Apple taking a cut of the revenue. And Netflix also still hasn't fully integrated with the TV app on Apple's streaming box, which lets you see content from all of your streaming services in a single carousel.

Whether it'll be a similar story for Netflix on the Apple Vision Pro remains to be seen, but for now, the mixed-reality headset will be missing the world's biggest TV streaming app, alongside Spotify and YouTube.

A sensible move or a snub?

The Disney app running on the Apple Vision Pro — (Image credit: Apple)

Right now, the Vision Pro is arguably a very expensive developer kit that's also available to buy in limited quantities – so Netflix's stance is completely understandable.

Greg Peters does add that Netflix and Apple are in regular contact, stating that “we’re always in discussions with Apple” and that “we’ll see where things go with Vision Pro”.

That's far from a closed door – and yet Netflix hasn't even allowed its iPad app to run on Apple's headset. You can watch Netflix on a web browser on the Vision Pro, but that's hardly a premium experience.

Daring Fireball's Jon Gruber even recently suggested that a Netflix iPad app for Vision Pro did exist, but that the streaming giant had a change of heart – and that the decision was made out of “pure corporate spite”, rather than anything technical.

Whatever the reality behind Netflix not even offering its iPad app on the Vision Pro, Apple certainly has its work cut out to convince some of the world's biggest apps to join its $ 3,499 “spatial computing” party. It's rubbing many developers the wrong way with its potential approach to sideloading on the iPhone, and we'll likely need to wait until at least the Vision Pro 2 before it gets close to being mainstream.

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January 25, 2024
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Meta might have been a big – perhaps even the biggest – player in the VR world for some time, but newcomer Apple is already giving it ideas for features to add to its Quest headsets, and the first of these could be the ability to use your Quest VR wearable while moving in a car or on a plane.

The reveal trailer for the Apple headset – which is finally set to launch on February 2, with Vision Pro preorders already having gone live (many Apple headsets are already being sold on eBay for extremely high prices) – showed off several use cases for the gadget. One of the examples was a person slipping the headset on while sitting in a plane seat, presumably so they could enjoy an immersive experience while traveling.

Using a VR headset while traveling – especially on a packed plane – sounds like a no-brainer. Rather than having to contend with movies displayed on a small screen on the back of the seat in front of you, you can enjoy them on a massive virtual movie theatre screen and forget that you’re crammed into coach like a sardine.

A woman wearing the Apple Vision Pro while on a plane with other passengers next to them. — (Image credit: Apple)

However, while the idea sounds simple, it’s rather tricky to pull off – as one disappointed Meta Quest 3 user discovered when they struggled to use mixed reality on a flight. On Twitter/X, user @afoxdesign posted a rather amusing clip of their Quest 3 menu floating off into the distance while trying to use the headset on a flight.

In a reply to the post, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth (@boztank) explained that the issue is caused by the plane’s movement throwing off the headset’s IMUs (inertial motion sensors). The sensors are picking up on the plane’s movement and acceleration, so your headset thinks you’re moving about and adjusts the position of virtual objects accordingly.

Encouragingly, Bosworth added that Meta is “Working on it” with regards to making it possible to use Quest headsets while traveling in a vehicle.

No, we use an IMU to keep objects localized relative to your headset motion so moving vehicles represent a challenge (when they accelerate in any direction). We also use the cameras, of course, they work together as the IMU is higher frequency but lower accuracy. Working on it!January 24, 2024

Back in May 2023 Meta showed off a demo where a Meta Quest Pro was being used in a BMW, with the car’s own sensors keeping the headset's IMUs in check. Unfortunately, this solution wouldn’t work for low-tech vehicles or commercial planes, where it might not be the safest idea to give random people direct access to the airplane’s sensors.

Option two, then, may be to introduce a simplified travel mode in which these motion sensors are turned off. Instead, the headset would use scaled-back tracking data and reference points to enable stable versions of static experiences like watching a video or playing a game through the VR Xbox Game Pass app – becoming a headset version of the Xreal Air 2 and similar wearable AR display glasses.

We’ll have to wait and see what Meta comes up with, but with Apple offering a solution to the using-a-headset-while-traveling problem, and Bosworth saying that a solution is being worked on, we’re hopeful that Quest headsets will be usable on a plane or in a car in the not too distant future.

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January 24, 2024
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Not many people have been in the same room as an Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, let alone touched and worn the thing. But if you're itching to get close before the February 2 launch day, Apple has the next best thing on its Apple Store App.

People often forget that Apple does some of the best AR in the business, including some wicked occlusion capabilities that let virtual objects block the view of real ones that sit or move behind them – and Apple's AR rendering of its Apple Vision Pro is right up there with its best work.

If you're not already familiar with the mixed reality set that everyone is talking about, Apple's Vision Pro is the tech giant's first attempt at an AR/VR-capable headset. Apple calls the entire experience Spatial Computing. I've worn it four times now, and I've experienced movies, interactive AR experiences, incredible panoramic photography, and almost wept through realistic spatial video; and I've done most of it with little more than my gaze and subtle gestures.

It's a wildly expensive product, starting at $ 3,499, but that hasn't dampened interest (it reportedly sold out on pre-order and is a hot item on eBay), so it makes sense for Apple to give us this AR taste.

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Apple Vision Pro in AR — (Image credit: Apple)

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To find it, you'll need to open the Apple Store App on your best iPhone or best iPad. In it, look for the Vision Pro, select it, and then scroll until you see 'View in your space'. Tap this, and then point your phone's camera at a flat surface like your desk or kitchen table. Keep the phone still for a moment, and after Apple finishes analyzing the 3D contours of the space, a translucent Vision Pro headset will appear. Tap it to drop it onto the table. After that, you can use one finger to move the AR Vision Pro around, and two fingers to rotate it. You can also resize it with two fingers, but then it won't be represented at full scale (it's easy to snap it back to 100%).

You can also move your phone around the rendering to see the headset from all sides, and even get close and peer into the dual, 4K microLED displays, which appear to be showing some sort of landscape. It's an opportunity to get an up-close look at the features, materials like the recycled yarn woven band, the aluminum spatial photography button, and the digital crown.

There's even a MagSafe-style power adapter attached to one side with a woven USB-C cable running off of the Vision Pro, but instead of running to a nearby battery, the cable disappears at the edge of the woven band. There's also no option to depict the Vision Pro with the Dual Loop Band that will also ship with the headset; I think that's a shame, since I bet that's how many people will end up wearing the Vision Pro.

Ultimately, this is a chance to see what the Vision Pro will look like in your real world; however, one thing this AR experience can't do is replicate the feeling of all that money leaving your wallet.

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January 22, 2024
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Getting a handle on just how many Vision Pro mixed reality headsets Apple sold in its first weekend isn't easy but finding out if everyone legitimately bought one is even harder.

Estimates put the weekend Vision Pro sales haul at somewhere around 180,000 units, and while Apple hasn't confirmed there are some indications that the Cupertino tech giant sold out of the Spatial Computing launch product. However, a quick perusal of the popular auction site eBay turns up hundreds and hundreds of Vision Pro headsets.

Since Apple has yet to ship its first Vision Pro (pre-orders started on January 19 and it ships on February 2), the majority of eBay auction offers appear to be pre-order placeholders. In one auction listing, the seller wrote (all caps are his):

“THIS IS A PRE-ORDER ARRIVING ON FEB 2ND! I WILL SHIP OUT SAME DAY AS LONG AS IT ARRIVES TO ME BEFORE 4PM.”

Some listings show a marketing image of the Vision Pro while others are simply proof of an existing pre-order. Prices range from under $ 600 to over $ 7,000. The base 256GB model currently lists for $ 3,499.99 (Vision Pro is not shipping outside the US).

While markups on eBay offers are expected, it's hard to imagine anyone paying double for the still-untested mixed-reality headset. More worrisome are the sub-$ 1,000 offers. There's no way a seller will pay Apple's roughly $ 3,500 upfront costs and then take a loss. The low prices are simply a come-on to drive interest and bids.

Apple Vision Pro on eBay — (Image credit: Future)

Why all the excitement and the unsurprising eBay activity? Apple Vision Pro is special. It's Apple's first new product category since 2015's Apple Watch. Apple is trying with this high-end and powerful wearable computer (it has M2 and R1 chips inside) to launch an entirely new Spatial Computing category.

I've had four experiences with Vision Pro and can agree that it's not quite like anything on the market. I'm especially impressed with its gaze and gesture tracking and ability to shift fluidly from full immersion to partial and then finally complete passthrough with realistic augmented reality. It has the potential to change entertainment, communication, gaming, and productivity. It also stands a fair chance of flopping since consumers still don't entirely understand why they should spend thousands of dollars for something they can only use by putting it on their heads.

If you're thinking about bidding on any of these eBay offers understand that off-brand pricing is not your only concern. You can't order Vision Pro without doing a face scan to ensure you get the right light seal. The eBay seller did the scan and there's no guarantee your face sizes and shapes will match (some do list the size of the light seal to help you match your face size).

Moreover, if you wear glasses, you'll need special $ 99-to-$ 149 Zeiss inserts to correct your vision inside the Vision Pro. Otherwise, the systems' two 4K microLED displays will look terrible. Without using Apple's guided ordering system, you won't be set up to receive the right inserts at the same time you receive the headset from the seller.

I contacted Apple about the eBay listings to see if they have any concerns. I can imagine that they're not pleased about it.

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January 22, 2024
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You can now virtually run Windows 11 on the newest Apple Mac devices (those with Apple’s own ARM-based M1, M2, or M3 chips) using Microsoft-authorized methods.

The MacBook maker switched from Intel processors in its devices to its own new line of Apple silicon ARM processors in 2020, and that change meant Mac users who wanted to use Microsoft’s Windows operating systems (or Windows-only apps) were left out in the cold..

For Mac devices with Intel processors, users could turn to the multi-boot utility program, Boot Camp, which enabled users to install and run Windows on their Macs as their chosen operating system (OS) – rather than the default macOS.

Users with Apple silicon processor devices can’t use Boot Camp, as it’s incompatible and would have to turn to other ways of running Windows operating systems, such as emulators and virtualization programs. There are many virtualization programs out there, but now, Microsoft has chimed in on which ones it thinks are best for this.

Microsoft's blessing

Microsoft published a post on its support website giving its official backing to two methods that can enable a user with Mac devices that have M1, M2, or M3 chips to use Windows 11 on their machine: Windows 365 Cloud PC (a service offered by Microsoft itself) and Parallels.

Microsoft has authorized Parallels’ desktop versions 18 and 19 to run the ARM-specific versions of Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise.

Users can do this by installing Parallels Desktop version 18 or version 19 and create a virtual machine that lives within your existing OS (probably macOS in this case). It explains that the ARM versions of Windows 11 OS do have limitations that impact a user’s ability to run certain hardware, games, and apps (a long-standing issue with Windows 11 on ARM devices, sadly). This workaround does, however, give users access to most Windows 11 features such as hardware acceleration, many multimedia technologies, and more.

Some limitations of Parallels include features that make use of Windows’ nested virtualization capabilities like Windows Subsystem for Android, Windows Subsystem for Linux, Virtualization-Based Security (VBS), and Windows Sandbox (this allows users to run isolated apps without affecting or harming your main OS installation). Parallels Desktop for Mac is also not able to run 32-bit Windows ARM versions, as Microsoft cut off support for 32-bit UWP apps for ARM in January of last year.

Apple also dropped support for 32-bit apps a while ago, with no known workarounds to make them work in modern macOS versions. If you’d like to try the listed features, Neowin recommends Microsoft’s other highlighted service, Windows 365 Cloud PC (which runs in a web browser window, making it much easier to set up), or getting a Windows laptop instead.

The standard edition of Parallels Desktop 19 will cost you $ 99.99 a year and the Pro version usually costs $ 119.99 a year, but Amazon is currently offering it with a 25% discount at $ 89.99 for a 1-year subscription.

Microsoft’s in-house solution, Windows 365 Cloud PC, will enable Mac silicon-chip users to stream a fully-fleshed-out and personalized Windows 11 version. Microsoft describes this as a “software-as-a-service solution for organizations of all sizes,” so this isn’t for individual users (yet).

It offers many of the features Parallels lacks like nested virtualization for testing, support for emulators within the virtual Windows 11 OS, and more. Perhaps we could see Microsoft introduce an individual model akin to the commercial version like it has recently for the premium version of its new flagship digital assistant, Copilot Pro.

Of course, Microsoft wants you to run Windows 11 on a PC meant specifically for it, (it even mentions this in the first line of the support post). However, many users like experimenting and personalizing their computing experiences and I think Microsoft’s willingness to accommodate that with its products fosters a positive impression among users and professionals.

While some Mac and MacBook users may baulk at the idea of running Windows on their devices, there are some useful benefits for people who want to test out Windows 11 programs, or use applications that don’t currently have native Mac support, so it’s good to see Microsoft acknowledge this and offer support and advice, even if it’s through gritted teeth.

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January 20, 2024
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Now that Apple Vision Pro preorders have gone live, we're learning more about Apple's expensive mixed reality headset – including the ways in which it will interact with other Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

As per the Vision Pro tech specs page (via MacRumors), the device supports Apple's AirPlay standard for wirelessly transmitting video and audio. In other words, you'll be able to beam whatever's happening inside the Vision Pro to the screen of an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple TV – anything that also supports AirPlay.

It's something we've seen in other headsets like the Meta Quest 3, the ability to mirror the display somewhere else, and it means if you're doing a presentation in a meeting or just playing around with friends and family, everyone you're with will be able to see whatever it is you're looking at in mixed reality.

If you're using a desktop Mac or a MacBook, then the connection can apparently go the other way too – so you can get whatever's on the macOS screen to show up inside the Vision Pro, and use your computer that way.

Getting hold of a Vision Pro

There is one bit of information to take note of here, which is that mirrored video can only be shown at a resolution of 720p (which has apparently been revised down from 1080p). It's not going to be the sharpest of pictures that you get.

Nevertheless, it's handy to be able to share what's inside your headset with other people, for all kinds of reasons. It's perhaps something that Apple Store staff will take advantage of as they demo the device to potential buyers too.

There were several months between the time the Apple Vision Pro was announced and when preorders went live, and you're not going to be able to walk into an Apple Store and buy a Vision Pro until Friday, February 2.

Everyone outside the US is going to have to wait even longer: it is possible to buy the headset internationally, but we wouldn't recommend it. We haven't heard when the device will go on sale in other regions, but we'll keep you posted.

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Posts tagged "Apple"

Apple Vision Pro reviews

Tom's Guide: “A revolution in progress”

In a nutshell

The Good

The Bad

WSJ: “All the characteristics of a first-gen product”

In a nutshell

The Good

The Bad

The Verge: “the best consumer headset anyone’s ever made”

In a nutshell

The Good

The Bad

CNET: “A mind-blowing look at an unfinished future”

In a nutshell

The Good

The Bad

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Is the Vision Pro selling well?

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More competition

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Future updates

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A sensible move or a snub?

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